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The Franciscans in Cathay: Memory of Men and Places. a Contribution for the Genealogy of Geographical Knowledge of Alexander Von Humboldt

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The Franciscans in Cathay: Memory of Men and Places. a Contribution for the Genealogy of Geographical Knowledge of Alexander Von Humboldt Universitätsverlag Potsdam Artikel erschienen in: Ottmar Ette, Eberhard Knobloch (Hrsg.) HiN : Alexander von Humboldt im Netz, XVI (2015) 30 2015 – 101 p. ISSN (print) 2568-3543 ISSN (online) 1617-5239 URN urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86895 Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien International Review for Humboldt Studies Revista internacional de estudios humboldtianos Revue internationale d’études humboldtiennes HiN XVI 30 2015 Universität Potsdam Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften Empfohlene Zitation: Giuseppe Buffon: The Franciscans in Cathay, In: Ette, Ottmar; Knobloch, Eberhard (Hrsg.). HiN : Alexand-er von Humboldt im Netz, XVI (2015) 30, Potsdam, Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2015, S. 13–28. DOI https://doi.org/10.18443/212 Soweit nicht anders gekennzeichnet ist dieses Werk unter einem Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag lizen- ziert: Namensnennung 4.0. Dies gilt nicht für zitierte Inhalte anderer Autoren: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.de 13 Giuseppe Buffon The Franciscans in Cathay: memory of men and places. A Contribution for the genealogy of geographical knowledge of Alexander von Humboldt Summary The study analyzes the process that leads to the elabo- majus), che Humlbodt stesso stima mediatore cultura- ration of the thesis of a continuity between the Medi- le per antonomasia. La parte conclusiva della ricerca si eval Asia mission and the New World mission. This ef- occupa di stabilire modalità e ragioni della secolarizza- fort, undertaken by the Catholic historiography of the zione del concetto di missione, cioè del trasferimento mission during the XIX century, is the result of the im- all’interesse cartografico dell’anelito alla propagazione pulse provided by Alexander von Humboldt’s studies del messaggio cristiano fino agli estremi confini della about the discovery of America (Examen critique). The terra, trasformazione predisposta dalla storiografia me- data about the geography of Asia collected by the mis- dievale che nei martirologia inserisce appunto i loca to- sionaries-travelers working in the territory between ponomastici. Karakorum and Khanbalik during the XIII e XIV centu- ry reaches Christopher Colombus with the mediation Resumen of Roger Bacon, whom Humboldt himself esteems as a true cultural mediator. The conclusion of the article tries El estudio analiza el proceso que conduce a la elabora- to identify reasons and modalities of the secularization ción de la tesis sobre una posible continuidad entre la of the missionary concept, i.e. the shift from the ideal misión asiática medieval y la misión en el Nuevo Mun- of the propagation of the Christian message to a pre- do. El empeño, asumido por parte de la historiografía vailing interest for cartography and topography, trans- misionera católica a lo largo del siglo XIX, constituye el formations arranged by a late medieval historiography resultado del impulso proveniente de los estudios de- that introduces into martyrolagia the loca toponomas- sarrollados por Alexander von Humboldt en torno a la tica. exploración de las Américas (Examen critique). Las in- formaciones sobre el espacio asiático transmitidas por Sommario los misioneros que operaron durante los siglos XIII y XIV entre Karakorum y Khanbaliq llegan a Cristobal Colón a Lo studio analizza il processo che conduce través de Roger Bacon (Opus majus), que el mismo Hum- all’elaborazione della tesi di una continuità tra mis- boldt considera como un mediador cultural por antono- sione asiatica medievale e missione nel Nuovo Mon- masia. La parte conclusiva de la investigación se dedica do. L’impegno, assunto dalla storiografia missionaria a establecer las modalidades y regiones de la seculariza- cattolica lungo il corso del XIX secolo, costituisce l’esito ción del concepto de misión, es decir, de la transferencia dell’impulso proveniente dagli studi svolti da Alexan- al interés cartográfico del anhelo por la propagación del der von Humboldt intorno all’esplorazione delle Ameri- mensaje cristiano hasta los extremos confines de la tie- che (Examen critique). Le informazioni sullo spazio asia- rra, una transformación que fue predispuesta por la his- tico trasmesse dai missionari operanti durante il XIII e toriografía medieval que en los martirologios insertaba il XIV secolo tra Karakorum e Khanbaliq pervengono a los lugares toponímicos. Cristoforo Colombo mediante Ruggero Bacone (Opus The Franciscans in Cathay: memory of men and places (G. Buffon) The persistence of the Medieval myth their investigations created a prejudice on the reason- of Prester John fuels catholic west- ing about the religious, economic and social effects of the Franciscan complex history in the Asian region. Ac- ward expansionism cording to them, the mission of the friars minor was a failure from the ecclesiastic and institutional point of The recent publication by Thomas Tanase titled view. Jusqu’aux limites du monde» : la papauté et la mis- sion franciscaine de l’Asie de Marco Polo à l’Amerique In fact, the thesis of the continuity between Eu- de Christophe Colomb1 allows to express an almost fi- roasia mission and overseas mission corroborated by nal judgement both in favour of the continuity between the Tanase study enjoys a long historiographic tradition Euroasia mission and overseas mission and the Francis- stemming from the anthropological and ethnographic can responsibility for the mobilization towards the most studies carried out in the XIX century especially by Alex- extreme frontiers of the Earth,2 as a result of an escha- ander von Humboldt. tological yearning. It also satisfies the reader’s desire to review the perspective traced in the important studies Humboldt dedicates in particular to the study of the by Petech3 and Richard4. Indeed, one cannot deny that sources on Cristopher Columbus the work Examen cri- tique de l’histoire de la géographie du nouveau continent et de progrès de l’astronomie nautique aux quinzième et 1 Rome, École française de Rome, 2013. sixième siècle (5 volumes, Paris Librairie de Gide, 1836– 2 The work, which is already valuable for the collection of a broad range 1839), on which we rely for this reflection. In relation to of updated publications on the history of cartography and geographical Humboldt’s study, Ottmar Ette proposed meaningful discoveries acquires much more significance because it gives a religious in- considerations for our analysis. For example, he high- terpretation of the publications in contrast with economic interpretations lighted that the Examen critique contains the premis- of the modern expansive phenomenon. es of an analysis of the interconnections between the old world and the new world. According to Ette, Hum- 3 Luciano Petech, «I Francescani nell’Asia centrale e orientale nel XIII e boldt’s work recognised already in the XV century the XIV secolo», in Espansione del francescanesimo tra Occidente e Oriente nel se- emergence of a new concept of space and time for colo XIII. Atti del VI Convegno internazionale, Assisi 12–14 ottobre 1978 (As- which Cristopher Columbus was an excellent cultural sisi, Università di Perugia Centro studi francescani, 1979), pp. 213–240; Id, mediator, a sort of engine of the globalization of ideas5. «Les marchands italiens dans l’empire mongol», in Selected papers on Asian History (Roma, Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1988), The persistenceof the Medievalmyth of Prester John fuels catholicwestward expansionism pp. 161–186. bis seraphicus (vol. I–VI Romae – Lugduny 1682–1689; vol. VII Quaracchi 1896). Indeed, the divulgation of the Franciscan universalism started with 4 I just mention two of the major works by the author. Jean Richard, La the Orbis seraficus and not with the Annals by Wadding, as Tanase seems papauté et les missions d’Orient au Moyen Age (Roma, École française de to affirm. In Asia and the far East, Franciscan universalism calls for a con- Rome, 1977); (2Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998) ; Id, Au-delà de tinuity between the mission in the Cathay of the Mongols and the mission la Perse et de l’Arménie. L’Orient latin et la découverte de l’Asie intérieure. in the China of the Mings, an idea already in the minds of the first mission- Quelques textes inégalement connus aux origines de l’alliance entre Francs aries in Western Indias, Martino di Valencia (†1534) and Juan de Zumaraga et Mongols (1146–1262) (Turnhout, Brepols, 2005). According to Richard, (†1548), first archbishop of Mexico. evangelization in Asia was unsuccessful and without any legacy (La pa- pauté et les mission d’Orient, p. 294). Modern mission, expanding towards 5 « Au centre de ce questionnement se situe la tentative d’analyse des America, was built on completely new basis. Therefore he thinks that the interactions et entrelacs entre l’Ancien et le Nouveau Mondes aussi bien story of the dissemination of the Christian message should be divided into dans l’espace que dans le temps et de détection des transferts de savoir at least three phases: Christianization of dark ages of Europe; evangeliza- qui concernent tout aussi bien la constitution et la production de nouveau tion of the late Middle Ages which tries to overcome the frontiers of chris- savoir que sa diffusion spécifique dans l’espace. Colomb apparaît en ce tianity; modern mission aiming at reaching a universal church – a global sens comme un médiateur de savoir ou plutôt comme celui qui fait bouger church. The continuity of the history of evangelization could be clarified by le savoir d’un monde intermédiaire sur la scène du ‘théâtre du monde’ the Franciscan historiography. With its chroniclers and analists such as Nic- pour multiplier les objets à l’horizon de la pensée européenne et ainsi ola Glassberger, Mariano da Firenze, Marco da Lisbona and Luke Wadding, démultiplier brusquement la ‘masse des idées’ ». Ette, «Réflexions euro- it assumes a long process of missionary expansion which goes from the XIII péennes sur deux phases de mondialisation accélérée», p. 41. On the im- century to the XVI century, exactly from Marco Polo to Cristopher Colum- portance of the studies carried out by Humboldt on the discovery of Amer- bus.
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